The Bolsheviks in power

When the Bolsheviks seized power in
Petrograd in November 1917, they faced many problems. Not least was the fact
that the Bolsheviks only controlled a very small part of Russia – basically
the land between Petrograd and Moscow, a rectangular band of territory 30 miles
by 400 miles. Outside of this territory, there were many groups that were
opposed to the Bolsheviks. Some areas broke away from Russia to become
semi-autonomous regions. Even in the land between Moscow and Petrograd, the
Bolsheviks were far from being free of enemies.

However, the Bolsheviks did have a
number of major advantages over their opponents. They had a leader who was
driven by energy and desire – Lenin. His military commander was equally as
gifted – Leon Trotsky. The party was actually reasonably small in numbers.
This made party discipline much easier to control and maintain. The party had a
central body of authority called the National Council. This elected the
party’s commissars (ministers) and Lenin was the president. Such tight
organisation was vital for success. No other political party in Russia had such
organisation and, as a result, the Bolsheviks had a major advantage over them.

The first task for Lenin was to withdraw
Russia from a highly unpopular war. Both sides benefited from this. The Germans
could shift all their forces on the Eastern Front to the Western Front. Lenin
could concentrate all his resources on what was happening in Russia. On December
14th, 1917, an armistice was concluded between Russia and the Central
Powers.

The start of the negotiations with the
Germans did not go smoothly. Trotsky did not share Lenin’s belief that it
should be peace at any price. As Foreign Commissary, Trotsky started the first
talks. Trotsky believed that the Russian Revolution would be the catalyst for a
world revolution with the workers across the world showing their support for the
Bolsheviks. He therefore felt that the Germans were not in the strong position
they believed themselves to be as, in Trotsky’s mind, the workers in Germany
would rise up in support of the Bolsheviks. He even appealed to the German
workers directly. When it became clear that he was wrong and he failed to soften
the German demands, he walked out of the negotiations.

The Germans went back on the armistice
on February 12th, 1918 and advanced a further 100 miles into Russia
in just 4 days. Lenin then took charge and ordered that there should be peace at
any price. The result was the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk. This treaty took away
from Russia all the land gained since Peter the Great and it separated the
Ukraine. Germany was to take from her new territory what she felt was needed to
fight the war. When Germans complained about the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles, many reminded them of the terms the Germans were willing to
impose on the Russians
with Brest-Litovsk.

However, the treaty gave Lenin what he
needed – time to concentrate solely on Russia. Many groups had formed that
wanted the Bolsheviks destroyed. In the Russian Civil
War, these were to be
known as the Whites. They had little in common, other than a desire to rid
Russia of the Bolsheviks.

Lenin also faced an immediate problem in
the rectangle of land controlled by the Bolsheviks. Kerensky had promised
elections for a constituent assembly while head of the Provisional
Government.
In July 1917, Lenin had called for a constituent assembly, so he could hardly
campaign against one now. Therefore, in December 1917, elections were held for a
constituent assembly. The Social Revolutionaries gained most seats (370 out of
703) while the Bolsheviks only got 168 seats. It was obvious that the
constituent assembly would be highly critical of Lenin and the Bolsheviks –
especially the 100 Mensheviks elected to it. Those voted to the constituent
assembly were allowed to meet in the Tauride Palace. The Palace was then
surrounded by Red Guards and those in it were told to disperse. It was the first
and last time it met.

Lenin could now concentrate on the impending
civil war. He also needed to introduce an economic system that was commensurate
with his beliefs and one that would benefit those under Bolsheviks rule. This
economic policy was to be called ‘War Communism’.